


you flower, you feast

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-06 04:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15878214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "i hope you can see,the shape that i'm in.while she's touching your skin."-or the one where harry & louis dated in high school, and harry's fiancée hires an extremely familiar wedding planner.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [annalise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalise/gifts).



> just a little prequel. xx.

Harry Styles sits atop the bleachers, waiting for his boyfriend, Louis Tomlinson, to get out of football practice. Whenever the team wraps up, Louis has a smoke and a chat with his boyfriend. And, if he's lucky, he gets a make out session before Harry drives him home.

The two have been together for just nearly a year, with Harry still being a sophomore and Louis due to graduate in two weeks. Before they began dating Harry had some serious doubts about it.

"What if you get kicked off of the team?!" Harry asked him.

"That doesn't happen!" Louis laughed. Practice began twenty minutes after school, so he spent them with Harry in the art room, where the younger boy liked to work on his paintings.

"But won't they make fun of you anyway?"

"Why would they?"

"Because you're dating me."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It just feels like you shouldn't be dating me," Harry explained. "Like you should be dating one of the lads on your team, or the cheerleaders."

"I'm not one for cheerleaders, you know that." He laughed again. "And the football players are my mates. You're not my mate, Harry. I like you much more than that."

"You do?"

And then Louis leaned over and kissed Harry. And that was that.

"Louis!" Harry screams and waves as the huddle of players break apart. The players all turn their heads to see the curly-headed boy then to Louis, who shyly laughs and rushes up to the bleachers, almost embarrassed. "Hi, Louis!" Harry smiles.

Lou smiles and dodges a kiss, then gives an awkward hug.

"What's wrong?" He asks, slightly frowning.

"I've kind of gotten to talk to ya, love." Louis says through his teeth.

"About what?"

"C'mon, then," He begins to drag the boy by the wrist. "Let's go into the locker room, the lads are watching us."

"Why do you care?" Harry asks. The older boy ignores him and just walks a bit faster toward the school, unknowingly holding onto him a little bit to tightly. "Ouch, Lou, you're hurting me."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Why are you mad, did I do something wrong?"

"Harry, hurry up." He swings open the door to the locker room and allows Harry to sit down on the bench. He paces around the room, massaging his temples and breathing steadily. "We need to talk."

"Are you okay, Louis?"

"I'm breaking up with you,"

Time froze. "What?!"

"I-I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, Harry. It's just...y'know, I'm leaving real soon for uni."

"We've spoken about it!" Harry exclaims, tears falling. "You said you wouldn't care, that you wanted to make it work!"

"I know, that's not my only reason, dear."

"What is it?" He stands up.

"Sit down, Harry."

"No. Tell me what's wrong."

"I..." He sighs. "My dad is coming down for my graduation, yeah?" Harry nods. "I told him about us last night, and...um, he's not really one for it."

"What do you mean?"

"He says it's dumb."

"What is?"

"Me being gay," He clarifies. "He says it's not real and I'm just faking it and I don't really feel that way, I just think I do." His voice breaks and he starts crying as well. It pains him to recall the night before and even more so to see his boyfriend so upset.

"So, that's just it? We're over, like that?"

"I don't know what to tell ya, Harry."

"Why do you care so much about what he thinks?"

"I rarely see him! Yesterday was the first time we've spoken in months, it's a miracle he's even coming to see me graduate. You know he never makes an effort."

"So why let go of the person that does?" Harry sobs. He's shaking so hard his voice is quaking, and he begins to feel lightheaded, so he finally sits again.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Louis kneels in front of him, as the younger boy avoids eye contact. "I love you so much, I really do. But I'm at a point right now where I need to do this for me and my dad's sake. He left when I was little, maybe him coming for my graduation will be the thing that reunites us, yeah? I'd hate for anything to get in the way of that being rekindled. You know how much family means to me. And maybe down the road, y'know, once that works out, we'll figure things out and fall back into each others' lives. But right now my main focus is just getting him to like me, he just needs to see that I'm not some freak like he made me out to be last night. I mean, you don't want him to think I'm a freak, do you?"

Harry's bloodshot eyes meet Louis. "I wouldn't think you're a freak, no matter what your dad said."

Louis stares at Harry for a moment, a long moment, then sighs once more. "I'm sorry, Harry." He whispers before leaving the locker room.


	2. Chapter 2

It's ten years later, and Harry is in the lobby of a wedding managing office with his fiancée. Rachel is tall and slender and has warm brown eyes. She's really funny and smells nice, and she really adores Harry's paintings.

"Are you sure you booked for three o' clock?" Harry asks her.

"Yes, dear, for the hundredth time." She scoffs. Harry tends to worry very often and Rachel isn't a fan. He's tried to talk to her about it but she isn't one for listening. He's very sensitive and there aren't a whole lot of people that take that into account. But they're planning their wedding today so she promised herself she'd be a bit softer with him. She entwines their hands. "I'm sorry," She apologizes. "Maybe he's running a bit late, is all."

"Mm," Harry mumbles.

"Aren't you excited?" She smiles.

"Yes, I'm excited." He says. "Really excited." There's some silence as he gently swings his feet off of the edge of his chair. 

"Don't do that, it's distracting." She scolds him like a child.

"What are we gonna plan today?" He looks over at her.

"We're gonna book our date at the venue, and decide on our theme." She explains. "It'll be really, really, quick, I promise." He nods softly and the door into the lobby opens. 

It's a short, nicely dressed man with a brown fringe and scruff lining his face. He gives a warm smile as he tries to stand much taller than he his, then glances down at his clipboard. "Harry and Rachel?"

The couple stands, still holding hands. They both shake the man's hand before he leads them to the very end of the hallway, where his office is, and allows them to enter as he shuts the door. He takes a seat in a big leather chair behind a desk with the golden tag reading L. TOMLINSON on it.

"Nice to meet the both of you." He smiles. "Mr. Styles, your fiancée and I have been in contact over the past two weeks, discussing some essentials for the big day."

"Mhm," He replies, to earn a hand swat from Rachel.

"Words, Harry." She sternly says.

"We need to pick a venue and book a date today," the planner explains. "Rachel, you said you wanted the wedding to be in a rustic-style Catholic church, correct?"

"Yes,"

"Well, we have three currently in the area that are available in the next year." He pulls out a folder from his file cabinet and hands it to her. "The one on fifth is the largest, and that would suit for your crowd of 850. But if you're looking for more in budget options, St. Peter's is in your price range. The only issue with that one would be that it isn't near many hotels, and I know you mentioned that a large percent of your family is flying in. Additionally, we could always-"

"Do I know you?" Harry's brow furrows. Rachel's head snaps in his direction.

"Don't interrupt, we have a lot to get done today." She tells him.

"I'm sorry, I can't shake it." He sighs. "You look familiar. Are you from here?"

"Uh, yes." He laughs awkwardly. "I am. But I just recently moved back, so I doubt we've met."

"When did you move away?" He asks.

"When my son was born,"

"I really like St. Peter's," Rachel says, regathering the attention of Tomlinson. "My only concern would be the space. Are you sure that it'd be able to hold all 850 people on the list?"

"No, but the good thing is that you haven't sent out invites yet, yes?"

"Yes."

"Well, if you can narrow your guest list down a bit then we can talk about St. Peter's. But, love, why is it you're inviting nearly a thousand people, again?" He laughs.

"I'm one of the only girls on my mother's side of the family," She says. "It's quite a big deal."

"Ahh," He nods. "Mr. Styles, have any insight on a venue? Anything in mind?"

"I swear I know you," Harry insists.

"Let it go," Rachel says.

"Did we go to school together or something? Was your son born just recently, or?"

"No, he was born about five years ago or so."

"But you were here when you were in school?"

"Yes, I was. Graduated from Alkon."

"So did I. Were we friends?"

"Ah, doubt that." He shakes his head with a smile. "You're a wee bit younger than me, and I was on the football team. I probably wouldn't have been friends with you as an upperclassmen, being the little dick I was."

"Oh."

"Yeah. But I'm better now!" Tomlinson grins. "Had a kid when I was young and changed my tune loads after he was born."

"Aww, that's sweet." Rachel smiles. "We want a really big family." She reaches for Harry's hand but he flinches it away, his eyes still glued onto the small, cheery man in front of him. He glances down at the little tag sitting on the edge of his table. 

"What's the L stand for?"

"Louis."

-

"You were SO awful in there." Rachel scolds him on the ride back home.

"I knew him from somewhere!" He tells her. "We were really close in high school."

"But did you need to be so creepy about it, dear?!"

"I'm sorry."

"It was so clear he didn't remember you, or if he did he wished he hadn't."

"You're not sure of that."

"Can't you read anyone? He was downright annoyed,"

"Sorry."

"He probably won't want to manage us now. Who'd want to manage a wedding where the groom is a complete creep over you?!"

"I'm so sorry, I messed up."

"That's such an understatement." She sighs. "Don't you realize the wedding is probably in less than a year? All you ever do is sit and paint at home all day."

"You like them though-"

"They're nice, Harry, but we're getting married!" She yells. "Why can't you understand that this means something to me? I mean, we're planning our wedding today and you spent the entire hour staring at our planner because you MIGHT have known him a decade ago? Do you even care about any of this?"

Harry just stares out of the car window cause he's not sure he does.


	3. Chapter 3

It's two hours into the Wednesday meeting that Harry needs to sit through. He looks over to the clock. There's only 45 minutes left. That's just five minutes, nine times. Fifteen minutes, four times. And yet it feels like he's gonna die of boredom before that time rolls around for all of them to go home.

"Harold?" A voice calls. His head pops up from his notebook.

"Yes?"

"Do you think you can manage that, tomorrow evening?" It's his co-worker, Liam Payne, a tall and fit man with a buzzcut. He has a tattoo on his forearm that Harry likes a lot. He likes Liam loads, mostly because he's the only one at the law firm that pays attention to him. He's also one of the few people that are actually gentle with him and his feelings, and doesn't mind it whenever Harry stutters or doesn't make eye contact.

"Sorry?" He whispers.

"Do you think you can get a claim tomorrow evening?" He asks, hoping Harry won't notice the sighs around the room.

"Oh, sure." He nods.

"Payne, go along with him." The boss orders, then glances down at his watch. "Can you two schedule that in Styles' office right now, actually? You have the time, just go ahead and call the hotel. Number should be in the records."

"Yes, Sir." Liam picks up his vanilla folder that's full to the brim, and motions for Harry to follow him back to the office. He shuts the door behind him as the long-haired lawyer leads the way to the door with STYLES engraved on it. "You went wedding planning this weekend, yeah?" Liam asks as they enter the room.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah."

"How was it?" He sets down the papers and begins to flip through them. "Taste any cakes? Smell any centerpieces? Try on a dress?"

"Mm, not really." He shakes his head. "Just a whole lotta yelling,"

"Sorry 'bout that, lad." He finds the highlighted number and gives it a ring. "Hello?...Yes, I'm Liam Payne from Evolve Family Law, I'm looking to book an interview with a resident of yours tomorrow evening...Mr. Thomas Williams...Okay, thank you." He places the phone on his shoulder gently as he's transferred. Just then, Harry's cell rings. It's a call from his fiancée.

"Liam...do this for me, be right back." He quickly rushes as he answers and walks into the hallway. "Hello?"

"Are you there yet?" His lover answers, honking horns and rainfall behind her. 

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you at the appointment yet? I'm stuck in traffic."

"What?" He questions. "Sorry, no, which appointment?"

An exasperated sigh comes from the other end. "Harry, the appointment with our wedding planner!" She exclaims. "We were supposed to meet him five minutes ago. He had the venue updates and our color schemes ready."

"I'm s-sorry, Rach." He apologizes. "I'm in the middle of a conference now, it's important."

"I don't wanna reschedule on him after the mess that was this weekend." She says. "The only time we'll be able to meet up again is tomorrow."

"Can't. I need to get a claim in the later day."

"Ugh," She groans. "I'm gonna e-mail him and I'll let you know."

"Okay, then. Goodb-"

_Click._

Oh well.

Harry quietly walks back into his office to see Liam just now setting down the phone. "Tomorrow evening at five, room 202." He turns and looks over at his friend's expression. "You okay, mate?"

"Rach is mad." He explains, then plops down in his big leather chair behind this desk. "Run me through this again, please?"

"Mr. Williams has been reported by his late wife's family as being abusive to their daughter," Liam sits. "Basically, little girl is going to grandparents' with bruises and scrapes and shit like that, so they've called us. She's in the custody of them right now, and we've got to go up there tomorrow and basically question him."

"Why's he in a hotel?"

"He lives there,"

"Him and the daughter?"

"Yeah, he isn't making much money." He says. "He also isn't very happy about any of this, and especially not about us dropping by tomorrow."

"Do you think he'll yell?" Harry anxiously asks.

"No clue," Liam eyes the clock on the desk. "But I'll be there with you, anyway. So not too much to worry about, 'kay?"

"'Kay." Harry softly nods. Just then, his phone buzzes. It's a text from Rachel.

_Wedding planner said you can stop by after the conference is done and pick up any paperwork we need. Don't mess this up please._

_-_

Harry walks up to the front desk of the managing office and tells the receptionist that he has to pick up some paperwork from Mr. Tomlinson. She leads him into his office, where the man is typing away at his desk.

"Mr. Styles, you're here." He looks up from his laptop.

"Uh, yeah." Harry nods.

"Your fiancée e-mailed me." He sit back in his chair and nonchalantly picks at his lower lip. "A bit of a mix-up with the appointment today?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry about that." He sits down and runs his fingers through his hair, brushing the long brown locks out of his face. "Had a conference, and Rachel was out in the traffic, and-"

"Say no more," Louis smiles. "It really is alright. Not a big deal." He opens up his file cabinet and pulls out a folder, then opens it and pulls out a form. "Rachel filled out this form online, but I need to have you do it, as well."

"What is it?"

"Just the essentials. What we need to know about you." He pulls out a pen.

"Oh. Okay."

"Full name?"

"Harry Edward Styles."

"Birthday?"

"February 1st."

"Employed?"

"Yeah."

"Occupation?"

"Family lawyer."

"Place of occupation?"

"Evolve Family Law."

"How long have you been working there?"

"Ah, three years."

Louis writes all of this down. "Education?"

"Law degree at University of Holmes Chapel."

"Any past marriages? Divorces? Widows?"

"No."

"Any children?"

"No."

This carries on for a couple more minutes. Harry enjoys things like these, where you don't have to think too much and there's very little room to mess up on any of it.

"Well, Mr. Styles, I think I can just prepare those venue dates for you and you'll be on your merry way. Any questions?" Louis smiles.

"Do you remember me?" Harry squints. His stomach does a churn at the courage it takes to ask the question.

"No, I'm afraid." He tells him, folding his hands and resting them on the table. "Like I mentioned, up until I had my son I wasn't the greatest guy. Probably didn't pay all that much attention to underclassmen."

"Oh."

"Sorry, lad." He shrugs.

"It's alright, maybe it wasn't even you." Harry says.

"Maybe."

"Your name sounded familiar, and I thought I'd maybe seen you someplace. Rachel said I was being a creep whenever I asked over the weekend."

"Sorry?"

"My bad, if I made you uncomfortable."

"You didn't make me uncomfortable, Harry." Louis replies. "Do you want those venue dates now?"

"Yes, that'd be great." He stands up. Louis prints out the papers and hands it to him.

"Bye, Mr. Styles." Louis waves.

"Goodbye," Harry says, shutting the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

_Knock-knock-knock._

Harry and Liam stand tall in front of Room 202. Liam has a book bag full of notes and files while Harry is in charge of the voice recorder. A man answers the door. He's in a light blue sweater and has messy black hair.

"Hi," He says.

"Evening," Liam greets. "I'm Liam Payne. We spoke yesterday?"

"Oh, right." His entire demeanor shifts. "Come on in." He makes a small grumbling noise and it becomes clear to Harry that he's drunk. And so he clings onto his co-worker. Harry gets uncomfortable around intoxicated people, they tend to be much more violent and rude than sober people. And sober people are already plenty rude to him anyway.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Liam sits on the edge of the bed with a notepad. "Mr. Williams, do you know of the claims that have been made about you?"

"Something about Adrienne."

"Yes, sir."

"And they say that I'm beating her."

"Yes."

"Yeah," He says. "They aren't true."

"They aren't?"

"I'm not beating her."

"Is there any reason they would claim that you are, then?" He asks.

"They don't like me."

"Why's that?" Harry speaks up.

"They're bitches," The man spits out. "All of them."

"All?"

"My in-laws, and my daughter." He explains. "I lost my wife two years ago, and now they want to take the girl away, too. Don't care about what I've been through. Bitches."

"Well, what-"

"She's a kid, do they understand that? Kids bump into shit. C'mon. So, she's a little bruised up. She's only four, ya know."

"Yes, but-"

"They don't know what they're doing when they tell you guys I'm abusing her." He begins to get aggressive. "I love Adrienne. But they don't give a shit! My girlfriend and I look after her nearly 24/7, and yet I'm being accused of beating her?!"

"Sir, calm down." Liam sternly says.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?!" He yells. "They're lying to you. You've got to believe me. Please!"

"Sir-"

"Please!" His voice is now booming and it becomes too much for Harry. He sets the voice recorder down on the bedside table and nearly darts out of the room. He sits in the hallway against a wall, his head between his knees.

Liam comes out to join him about ten minutes later, when H is on his millionth deep breath.

"You okay, Harry?" He asks softly.

"Uh-huh." He replies.

"Are you scared?"

"Uh-huh."

"We're going to go now, don't worry."

"Mkay,"

"Mkay."

Liam leads him to the elevator. Sometimes a loud sound or sudden screaming will make Harry feel sick and flustered. It's almost like the noise consumes him and drowns everything out, almost like TV static. It's been happening since his very first day at university, his mother always told him to just separate himself from the situation and take some deep breaths. It always works, even when he thinks it won't.

But there are some scenarios where he can't separate himself. Like whenever Rachel is yelling at him in the car. He just remains quiet and practices breathing, but it doesn't subside until they reach their destination and he can physically remove himself from her. It's the same reason he doesn't particularly like concerts or movie theaters or noisy crowds.

On the way back to the law firm, Harry remembers the doctor's appointment he has after work. Something to do with him and a psychiatrist. He and his mother talked about it ages ago, and she thought it'd be best for him to see one, without Rachel knowing. He didn't seem too interested until his mom mentioned that the doctors could help him get rid of the sensory overload, and by then he seemed more than eager to schedule. Anything to make the world a little more quieter.

-

Harry shows up twenty minutes early in the parking lot of his clinic. He begins to think about the little girl who has to live with the loud, angry, drunk man. He wonders if she feels the overload all the time. He wants kids of his own and hopes that they never have to experience the television static feeling. He hasn't even had them and yet he still loves them, and they're already his favorite people in the world. He wants to keep them warm and safe and happy all of the time.

Odd enough, he can't see him having them with Rachel. He feels like they would be better off if it were just him and the kids, away from her and her screaming. But he's been a full-time family lawyer for some time, and a part-time social worker for even longer. He's seen what divorces and custodies and long roads like that can do to both couples and children. He won't mind sticking with Rachel if it means somewhat happy kids.

Besides, it's wedding stress. Once they're married, everything will fall into place like it should.

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

_Unknown Number._

"Hello?" He answers.

"Mr. Styles?" Louis says. "Are you available sometime later today?"

"Uh, yeah. But I need to speak to Rachel about it."

"No, just you alone would be great."

"Sorry?"

"I need to speak with you alone." He responds.

"Oh, alright." Harry mumbles, hesitant. "I have an hour-long appointment."

"Okay. You can stop by the office afterward."

"Okay, sounds good."

"Great!" He chippers. "See you then."

 _"_ Goodbye."

_Click._

-

Harry walks to the very back of the narrow hallway and knocks on the door he's been faced with three times in the last week. A voice tells him to come in and so he does. The desk is less messy this time, with all of the papers in neat little piles and pens in little cups along the edge. However, the L. TOMLINSON plaque remains.

"Mr. Styles, thanks for making it!" Louis grins. "Have a seat." Harry does so.

"What's going on?" He asks.

"Not much, yourself?"

"No, I mean..." He pauses. "Is there a problem with the venue?"

"What? Oh, no." He shakes his head. He seems almost nervous. "I just had to let you know, I've transferred all of your information and plans and paperwork so far to another planner in my division."

"Why?"

"I've decided it would be inappropriate for me to plan your wedding due to the circumstances of our past. I'm sorry that this is such late notice."

"Our past?"

Louis lets out a shallow breath, then flashes an anxious smile. "I remember you, Harry."

"You remember me?"

"How could I forget?"

"You made it quite, um, apparent that you'd forgotten about me." He says. "I didn't want to bring it up."

"Neither did I. I mean, what with you and your future wife. And me and my son. It didn't really feel necessary to mention. It's quite obvious that things change as life goes on." He laughs. "But I don't think I should go through with this planning. I promise, the woman I have sent your information to is amazing! Beautiful ceremonies, really good with numbers. You and Rachel are in good hands."

"Oh."

"You alright, mate?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," Louis stands up to walk him out. "I've got to say, it's good to know you're doing well. I always wondered what happened to you."

"You, too." He walks to the doorway, then freezes and turns around. "I need to ask, how are you and your father?" 

That's another thing Harry does. He asks questions that aren't completely okay to ask. And he can never tell when it's okay to ask something. He can't help it, he just knows when he wants answers. It's a good thing Louis happens to be considerate of this.

"He passed away years ago." He answers.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"Sorry."

"I said it's alright,"

"I didn't mean to make that weird."

"You didn't make it weird, Harry."

"Okay. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Harry."


	5. Chapter 5

Harry agrees to go to brunch with Rachel's parents and her. They were plenty nice when they first began dating but since the engagement they seem to discourage the relationship. There isn't very much that Harry likes to talk about with them, after all, the three of them don't have anything in common. Rachel's father, Susan, is a school teacher. And her father, Jim, is a doctor. So while Rachel and her parents chat at the table, Harry quietly enjoys their presence and thinks about Louis.

Louis.

Just the name alone has begun to erupt those butterflies he got as a teenager. It's something he hasn't felt since Louis. Something he had to convince himself he had when it came to Rachel.

He's going to miss Louis loads. He remembers how much he missed him whenever they broke up in high school, and honestly, seeing him every other day this week had made Harry a little happy. Life is pretty mundane with Rachel, so it was nice to see a piece of his life before her, since now he imagines he'll be with her the rest of his life. But not anymore. Now they're gonna go see a normal wedding planner that probably won't be as gentle with Harry as Louis was, or as nice, or as cute. She'll probably just talk about boring wedding stuff with Rachel while H sits next to them, pretending to be interested. Kind of like he is right now.

"Harry?"

"Hm?" His head perks up to Jim.

"How's the law firm going?" He asks. "Rachel here tells me you're working on a case."

"Oh, yeah, yeah." He nods. "Uh, family law. I work in family law."

"Well, we know THAT." Rachel awkwardly laughs and rubs his arm.

"But uh, no," He coughs. "The wedding. I'm so uh, so excited to marry your daughter." He gives a small smile and nods. Her and her parents smile. But it's all a lie. He already misses Louis, and the thought of never seeing him again makes him feel like he's gonna be sick all over his waffles. "If you'll excuse me," He shyly says then creeps out of the booth, rushing to the restroom to call Louis.

"Hello?" Lou's voice greets him and the summersaults in his stomach settle.

"Hi Louis, it's me." He replies.

"Oh, hi, Harry." He responds. "Did ya need something?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, kinda."

"Well, what is it, lad?"

"I uh, well..." God, what is it he's calling for again?

"Yeah?"

"I really do want you to arrange my wedding,"

"Ya know I can't do that. It'd be inappropriate, I told you."

"I know, but Rachel, she really did like you." He says. "And she doesn't need to know 'bout us, Louis, it's not a big deal now."

"I'm uncomfortable, Harry."

"But why?"

"I feel like I know why you're callin'." He explains. "I don't think Rachel is the issue."

"What do you think it is, then?"

"You're a nice guy, Harry, but so is Rachel. I'm not that kind of person anymore, I have a son and he's my priority." Louis sighs. "I'm telling ya, the woman I transferred all your work to is top notch at her job. You both are in very good hands."

"Yeah, I'm sure." He scoffs. This is the most he's ever opened up and this is what happens.

"I'm sorry, lad." Louis apologizes.

"'s okay." He mumbles. He doesn't want to hear him say goodbye, he doesn't want to hear him say anything, so he hangs up. He tries to hide his emotions as he walks back to the table and takes a seat.

"What was that about, Harry?" Rachel asks, frustrated.

"Work," He tells them. "Sorry." He runs his fingers through his hair and tries to get his ex-boyfriend's voice out of his head.

-

It's a week later and Harry is driving. The doctors called him and said that he had something called Asperger's syndrome, and that it's a form of high-functioning autism. He calls his mother about it and he says he doesn't feel like he's autistic, and she tells him that it's on a spectrum, and he guesses he's okay with that answer. Once he got off of the phone with the doctors he decided to make dinner for Rachel, but she never called and said it'd be a long night and she wouldn't be home till late.

So now he's gotten the food in the passenger seat and he's driving to her office, because he worked hard on the dinner and doesn't want to see it go to waste.

He also doesn't want to see what he does when he pulls up.

Harry is in the parking lot as he sees Rachel being kissed and pushed up against the window of her first-story office. A man's hands grip on her waist and Harry gets a little bit of the throwing up feeling again. His stomach sinks and he feels like he can't breathe. His foot angrily steps on the brake and he yanks himself into reverse, storming off into the only place he feels he can go.

-

When he arrives to Louis' office it's late, and he's praying that Louis is still there. As he pulls up to the front Louis is having a smoke outside while on his phone. He turns off the car and steps out of the door, tears running down his cheeks and voice broken.

"Harry?" Louis asks loudly. "Are you crying?"

"Uh-huh,"

"Don't you know what time it is?"

"Uh-huh,"

They both stare at each other for a long time.

"Harry, do you need a hug?"

"Uh-huh."


End file.
